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Chapter 23: Orcrox Warriors (2)

However, Yi-An approached him with another question, “What’s going on?”

Grom turned his head in surprise. His eyes quivered. “How are you h-here?”

“I went to Basque Village and returned with the sorcerers.”

“...”

“Why is everyone like this? Will there be a war?”

Grom avoided Yi-An’s eyes.

“...?”

“It’s because of me,” Grom said.

“Huh?”

“I... happened to...” Grom deliberated with his words before letting out a sigh. “Okay, I will explain. I discovered something weird.”

“Like what?”

“I went to the north...”

Grom’s story was a long one.

***

In his pursuit of what was warrior-like, Grom headed north, but the north of Orcrox wasn’t a suitable place for apprentice warriors. Scary monsters that only high-level rankers could handle dwelled there. Orcrox Fortress was originally built to block monsters from the north, but Grom had blindly headed there out of curiosity.

While running away from a troll, he discovered something weird. It was a cave. Within its boulders was a small gap that one person could squeeze into, so he hid there. The troll left because it couldn’t find him.

However, Grom was curious about what was in the cave and went deeper inside. As he walked farther in, the cave widened, and an empty area appeared. There was a torch lighting up the space on the wall and the shadow of a human standing at the center. It had the form of a human, but it wasn’t human.

The torch wavered and lit up the figure’s face, allowing Grom to see the horrifying face of the undead that had rotting flesh clinging to its bones. It was a death knight!

The death knight whispered to him in an eerie voice, “Thiiss iiss aa plaaccee yoouu shoouuldn’t haavvee coommee... Puunniisshh innttrruuddeerrss...”

Grom, stricken with fear, turned and fled, but the death knight chased him and swung its sword. Despite managing to block the death knight’s sword with his axe, Grom tumbled to the ground because of the death knight’s tremendous strength. The death knight lost its balance, and the two became entangled and rolled onto the ground together. Its cold hand grabbed tightly onto Grom’s shoulder. Grom was horrified and struck the arm multiple times with his axe. Once, twice, thrice—he struck the arm relentlessly without thinking due to his panicked state. Eventually, the death knight’s wrist broke off.

“Aaahhhhhhh...” the death knight wailed painfully. It was a strange sound that made those who heard it shudder.

Grom then ran like crazy without looking back. He continued to hear the death knight’s painful screams behind him. He passed through the tunnel, exited the cave, and raced toward Orcrox Fortress. He didn’t care whether there were trolls or goblins around and just ran and ran. He was only able to catch a breath once he saw the trustworthy guards at Orcrox Fortress.

However, instead of being their hearty selves, they eyed him warily. “Apprentice... what is that?”

Grom followed their line of sight and looked at his shoulder. The death knight’s rotting hand was tightly gripping his shoulder as if it was still alive! Grom touched it out of surprise, but the grip only tightened, and its fingernails dug into Grom’s shoulder.

Grom screamed.

Having gauged the seriousness of the situation, the guards notified Administrator Tanya and Instructor Lenox, who immediately decided on a subjugation quest. The fact that a death knight had been guarding the entrance of the cave meant something even stronger was dwelling inside. Lenox suspected that it might be a lich.

A lich settling close to Orcrox indicated an evil force was trying to inflict harm with dark magic. The fact that the death knight’s hand was strong enough to rip into Grom’s shoulder even after he had fled all the way to Orcrox suggested the situation was even more dangerous than it seemed. Undead creatures like them accumulated strength and devastated their surroundings as more time passed, so the orcs had to get rid of the lich quickly.

The decision was made swiftly and efficiently, and the warriors gathered under Lenox’s orders. Thus, Lenox’s army was formed with Grom as the guide.

***

“Isn’t this... a dungeon raid?” Yi-An asked.

Dungeon raids were referred to as the highlight of virtual reality games. Elder Lord was no exception. Raid videos always got the most views.

“Yes, but... are you planning to go as well?” replied Grom.

“I want to go.”

“It will be dangerous. It’s better if you don’t go...”

Grom was pessimistic for some reason. He was usually enthusiastic about progressing in the game. Was a death knight that scary? Yi-An tilted his head in wonder.

Lenox and Hoyt appeared in front of the stationed troops. Yi-An also saw Tanya, Orcrox’s administrator whom he was seeing for the first time. Lenox scanned the warriors and sorcerers, who had all gathered within a short time frame under Lenox’s command.

Yi-An was excited. He was pumped up to see how passionately Lenox would scream and raise morale. Maybe he would slap their cheeks one by one and tell them to come to their senses.

Lenox stepped forward. He was unexpectedly calm.

The area fell silent.

“Our destination is the dungeon of the undead. We suspect there might be a lich. We are uncertain what dangers await us. The worst-case scenario might happen, but...” Lenox said and then paused.

All of the orcs listened attentively to Lenox.

“...we must do it,” he continued with a low but strong, reliable voice.

The warriors nodded.

“I hope you all stay alive,” Lenox said at the end.

The orcs raised their weapons and shouted in unison, “Bul’taaaarrrrrrr!”

The cry rang throughout Orcrox. Lenox nodded in approval as he got ready to depart. The warriors and sorcerers followed behind him, then the formation turned around. Yi-An, who had been at the end of the formation, met eyes with Lenox.

“Apprentice,” said Lenox.

“Yes!” Yi-An tensed up.

He was worried Lenox might tell him to stay behind because he was just an apprentice warrior. Yi-An looked at Lenox with earnest eyes.

Lenox grinned. “Don’t fall behind. Keep up with the group.”

Hearing that, Yi-An grinned too. “Understood, sir!”

Hoyt, who was at Lenox’s side, also grinned. Gultai, the warrior whom Yi-An had shared drinks with at the bar, approached him from behind and heartily slapped his back. Then the sorcerer, Kinjur, bestowed blessings on the whole unit. This was Yi-An’s first battle as an orc.

***

There were around fifty warriors and twenty sorcerers. Approximately seventy orcs in total marched through the forest. However, because of their broad shoulders, large stature, and fierce presence, Yi-An felt as if he was following behind thousands of soldiers. Grom was at the forefront to give directions to Lenox, but Yi-An walked at the end with the rest of the soldiers.

Gultai and Yi-An were walking shoulder to shoulder.

“Apprentice, is this your first dungeon?”

“Yes, sir.”

“It will be fun, hahaha.” Gultai laughed with his halberd on his shoulders.

Because of the sorcerers\' magical powers, an unknown force hovered around the troop. Monsters that appeared on the way were swept away like autumn leaves in the wind. The northern monsters were much stronger than the goblins or dire wolves Yi-An had faced previously. Trolls, huge mantises, flying wyverns, and worms were popping out from the ground constantly. Powerful monsters that he would have fallen prey to if he had been alone appeared continuously, but the warriors, empowered by the sorcerers’ magic, easily defeated them.

Lenox, who was leading the way, displayed a fearsome use of the axe. The trolls were unable to recover from his attacks and were shredded to pieces. Gultai, who was always laughing, was a truly amazing warrior. While Yi-An was struggling to defend himself from the mantis’ attacks, Gultai amputated a mantis’ limbs in an instant and then threw his head back and laughed. The warriors had an intimidating energy.

After continuously battling with monsters, the orcs finally arrived at their destination.

Below the ridge stretching down the mountain range was a boulder. They could see the gap in the boulder. Although the gap was narrow, there was definitely a cave inside with a path leading somewhere.

As soon as they saw the cave, the sorcerers flinched. They marveled, “Such strong magic...”

Yi-An also felt a chill in his spine due to the eerie energy.

Lenox then ordered Grom, “Go in.”

“Huh?”

“Aren’t you gonna go inside?”

“Since I have guided you all the way here, I’m just...”

“It’s more dangerous if you are alone.”

Lenox seized Grom by the back of his neck and entered the cave.

One by one, the orcs entered the narrow cave with the sorcerers\' lights illuminating the way. The warriors and sorcerers walked forward in a line. Soon after, the orcs found themselves in a wide tunnel and immediately regrouped into their previous formation. There were traces of someone having been there as the sharp edges of the cave had been deliberately broken.

The air felt thick and heavy. Was this what dungeons were like? An uncomfortable energy seemed to cling all over Yi-An’s body, making it hard for him to move. At the end of the tunnel was an empty area lit by torches and magical stones. The shadow of a human was standing at the center of it all.

“That is...?”

It was the death knight who had attacked Grom.

The death knight raised his sword and said, “Foooolllisshhh orrrrrcccsss... Geeeetttt oooouuutttt ooooffff heeeerrree...”

It was an eerie sound that seemed to emerge from the abyss. Yi-An got goosebumps on his neck from hearing it.

“IIIfffff yyyoouu dddooonnn’t... yyyoouuu wiiilll diiieee pppaaiinnfulllyy... bbee rreeaadddyyy too ffaaacceee eettteerrnaaalll ppaaaiiinnn...”

It was a frightening warning!

Amid the horrifying threat, Yi-An detected something was amiss. “...”

The death knight was slowly retreating while threatening the orcs, but its retreat wasn’t obvious due to the distraction of its disturbing voice.

The orcs failed to notice this and were instead shaken up by the sight of the death knight.

“He’s not even nervous despite being so outnumbered... As expected of a death knight.”

“Only the most powerful beings become death knights when they die.”

“How frightening! What if we lose?”

“Even if we die, we must fight! Bul’tar...!”

The death knight was getting farther and farther away. It had extraordinary moonwalking skills that allowed it to move backward without being noticed. Fearing the death knight might get away at this rate, Yi-An threw a stone in haste.

Whack! The stone hit the death knight smack in the head and rolled onto the ground.

Everyone turned toward Yi-An at once.

Yi-An suddenly felt self-conscious, but he proceeded to shout, “Catch him!”

No longer trying to disguise its retreat, the death knight turned around and ran. The orcs finally came to their senses and began chasing it. The cave echoed noisily as dozens of orcs ran after the death knight.

Then one of the orc warriors threw his axe. It twirled in the air and hit the death knight.

“Aahhhhhhhhh....” The death knight crumbled to the ground as the orcs surrounded it.

They began punching and kicking it.

However, the death knight implored them to stop. “W-Wa-Wait!”

“What, this dude could talk normally?”

“Was he just pretending?”

The orcs continued to beat up the death knight. The death knight sagged on the ground as if it had given up.

Lenox then grabbed the death knight by the neck and lifted it up.

He asked, “Death knight, who summoned you?”

“Ccaannn’ttt teeellll yyoouuu...”

Lenox landed a punch on the death knight. “Speak properly.”

“Ah, I can’t tell you. If I do, I will cease to exist.”

“When did you settle here?”

“It hasn’t been that long. I was ordered to guard the entrance a week ago.”

“How many more of you are out there?”

“When I was summoned, I saw dozens of skeletons and gargoyles. There must be more now. There were also several other death knights...”

“Is there a lich?”

“I c-can’t tell you...”

Lenox flung the death knight onto the ground. It moaned while tossing in pain. Lenox sternly looked past the space they were in.

“Strange.”

“What is?”

“A death knight can’t be this weak.”

“Then...”

“It’s a trap.”

At the end of the area was a huge door. As Lenox approached it, the door began to move. As if signaling that this was the true beginning, the firmly closed door began to slowly open and reveal its insides like a devil opening its mouth.

Pitch-black darkness that was thick and opaque lurked behind the door. Even if it was a trap, this was unavoidable.

“We are going in.”

From now on, it was an unknown danger zone where everything was unpredictable. Lenox took the lead as the orcs silently followed behind him.

The eyes of the decapitated death knight stared blankly at the soldiers’ backs.